Adekemi Eunice Olowokere
AfWORO’s Gender Researcher from Nigeria
Adekemi Eunice Olowokere is a registrered nurse-midwife and a public health nurse. She holds a Master of Science and a PhD in Community Health Nursing. She is an early career researcher with over 15 years history of activities in health education and public health programmes planning targeting women, youth and children. She has hands-on experience in new program development and management for reproductive, maternal and child health, NGO-support and programme monitoring and evaluation. She is currently a lecturer in the Department of Nursing Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.. AfWORO supports her participation as social and gender scientist in a research on Nigerian medical and dental researchers’ gendered barriers to build an academic career.
Profile in ResearchGate
Esther Deguenon
AfWORO’s Microbiologist from Benin
Esther Deguenon holds a PhD in Microbiology and Pharmacology of Natural Substances from the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin). Her PhD thesis work was funded by the The World Academy of Sciences. In recognition of her research work, she was named the Young Ambassador or the American Society for Microbiology in January 2020. She is also the Laureate of the Young Research Prize of the German Network of Excellence in Science (AGNES) funded by the Alexander Van Humboldt Institute, and the representative of Inqaba Biotech in Benin, an African pioneer company in the synthesis of primers for the detection of molecular pathogens and bacterial genome sequencing. AfWORO supports her research on salmonella in Benin.
Profile in ResearchGate
Farah Nabil
AfWORO’s Gender Researcher from Egypt
Farah Nabil (Cairo, Egypt, 1995) has completed a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy and Biotechnology from the German University in Cairo, and a Masters in Clinical Research from the University of Barcelona and The Barcelona Institute of Global Health. She has research experience in the areas of migrant health, adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health, and female-initiated and controlled HIV prevention technology (HPV) such as vaginal microbicides. Farah has previously led community awareness campaigns about HIV, HPV, and tuberculosis prevention, menstrual hygiene, and the human rights of vulnerable groups in Africa and Latin America. She is currently preparing her doctoral thesis on the MSM-competent provision of psychosocial health services in Senegal
Lara C. Sousa
AfWORO’s Gender Researcher from Mozambique
Lara C Sousa has a Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology. She studied Cinema and Television at the EICTV in Cuba. Whilst filming, she does consultancy work in Mozambique. So far, she has gained research experience with UNICEF, the World Bank and the European Union, among others. With AfWORO, Lara, who is drawn to gender and health studies, has been one of the researchers responsible for carrying out an ethnography in Inhambane Province, in Mozambique, that aimed to assess the barriers that the women face to access eye care services and cataract surgery. This ethnography was commissioned by the NGO Ulls del Món.
Nicole Nkoum
AfWORO’s Social Scientist in Senegal
Nicole Nkoum (Cameroun, 1985) completed a Degree in Sociology, and is now a PhD in Gender and Resilience candidate at the Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD, Dakar, Senegal). All her last professional experiences were in Medical and Social Anthropology projects, including field research in Guinea Conakry, as a WHO consultant, during the recent 2016-14 Ebola epidemic. Currently, Nicole works as Research Assistant in the SAHARA Program/UCAD and as Socio-Anthropologist at the Institut de Recherche en Santé, de Surveillance Epidémiologique et de Formation (IRESSEF, Dakar). She is especially interested in infectious diseases research and in sexual and reproductive health research. Nicole is AfWORO’s Social Researcher in Senegal.
Grace Boiwu
AfWORO’s Social Researcher in Liberia
Grace Boiwu, midwife and social worker, joined the Mother Patern College of Health Sciences in Monrovia in 1994 as a team member in its Women’s Health and Development Program. Grace has succeeded in integrating her field experience with her knowledge and skills about violence against girls and intimate partner violence prevention. Among many other initiatives, she assisted the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and UNICEF in the development of training manuals. Grace plans to continue being a focal voice on women’s issues. She will continue supporting healthcare workers and researchers who aim to prevent any form of gender-based violence.
Grace’s publications with AfWORO:
[1] ‘Birds of the same feathers fly together’: midwives’experiences with pregnant women and FGM/C complications – a grounded theory study in Liberia’. (Open Access here)
Christine K. Tarr-Attia
AfWORO’s Public Health Researcher in Liberia
Christine K. Tarr-Attia is the Nursing Director for St. Joseph Catholic Hospital, in Monrovia (Liberia); where she manages medical and nursing personnel and supports the conduct of operational research. She holds a BSc in Nursing and an ASc in Nursing Anesthesia. Thanks to support from the international institutions AfWORO and ISGlobal, she has gained expertise as a public health researcher and as a trainer in Good Clinical Practice. She’s co-led a research on perceptions on malaria research for pregnant women (REF1, REF2, REF3). And, together with Mrs. Grace Boiwu, Mrs. Tarr-Attia was the principal investigator of a research project on midwives’ experiences with female genital mutilation/cutting.
Christine’s publications with AfWORO:
[1] ‘Birds of the same feathers fly together’: midwives’experiences with pregnant women and FGM/C complications – a grounded theory study in Liberia’. (Open Access here)
Jainaba Kargbo
AfWORO’s Public Health and Nutrition Researcher in The Gambia
Jainaba Kargbo is the holder of a BSc in Public and Environmental Health and is a lecturer at the University of The Gambia. She has over five years of field experience as a public health officer, and is much aware of the constraints that rural women face to ensure their households are food secured and can access proper hygiene and sanitation means. Jainaba has just completed a Master Global Health in Barcelona, and, as regular collaborator of the NGO Nutrition Without Borders, is working towards building a career as researcher on the gendered and socioeconomic aspects of food waste.
Mary Ibeto
AfWORO’s Board Scientific Advisor
Mary Ibeto (Nigeria, 1983) is a medical doctor trained in the United Kingdom (UK), with several years’ experience working in both clinical and public health sectors of the UK and African countries. Dr Ibeto is particularly interested in health promotion, effective resource management and the development of truly patient-centered healthcare systems. Her research experience in sub-Saharan Africa has focused around strategies for improving access to HIV care and treatment for the most vulnerable (i.e. PMTPT B+). She is also a motivated trainer on sexual health for general practitioners in the UK. Dr Ibeto is a Scientific Advisor to the AfWORO board.
Harriet Namulondo
AfWORO’s Board Scientific Advisor and Social Researcher in Uganda
Harriet Namulondo is a Ugandan MA holder in Child Development with broad experience in management of community-based education programmes. She has a passion for improving the health status of children and adolescents in rural communities. Harriet has experience in health, gender and education programming, and in research on sexual and reproductive cultural practices that negatively affect girls. She is currently affiliated to the Centre for Transformative Parenting and Research, where she coordinates an HIV incidence reduction project that targets 45000 15-19 years old school girls in Uganda. Harriet is a Scientific Advisor to the AfWORO board and AfWORO’s Social Researcher in Uganda.
Asantewa C. Oduro
AfWORO’s health and social researcher in South Africa
Asantewa C. Oduro graduated with a BA Hons in Psychology from the now Nelson Mandela University. After completing her Honours degree, she went on to complete a short learning Diploma in Human Resource Management and Training from Varsity College in Port Elizabeth. Since embarking on her career in research, she has worked on several projects as a research assistant in the field of HIV and has spent almost six years working with HIV positive adolescents and their caregivers. She currently works at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, which is based in Cape Town, South Africa.
afworo.org 